Zarif Blasts Trump for Trying to Use UNSC Session against Iran

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said US President Donald Trump plans to abuse an upcoming United Nations Security Council meeting and blame Iran for the “horrors” that Washington has unleashed in the Middle East.

In a message posted on his Twitter account late on Wednesday, Zarif said the US had already violated the only UNSC resolution on Iran, referring to the Resolution 2231 that endorses the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers.

“There's only one UNSC resolution on Iran...@realDonaldTrump is violating it & bullying others to do same. Now he plans to abuse presidency of SC to divert a session—item devoted to Palestine for 70 yrs— to blame Iran for horrors US & clients have unleashed across M.E,” Zarif said.

The tweet came after US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikkie Haley on Tuesday announced Trump intends to chair a session of the UN Security Council in late September to focus on Iran, and the Iranian president will have the option of attending the forum.

“The country can speak if there is a Security Council meeting,” Haley told reporters during a UN press briefing. “So I think that would be up to (Rouhani) as to whether he would want to speak; but, I believe that, according to the rules, he would have that right.”

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

On August 6, he signed an executive order, re-imposing many sanctions on Iran. He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the Islamic Republic.

Trump also restated his opinion that the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was a “horrible, one-sided deal”.